Public Is Split On Whether Being A Governor Or Member Of Congress Is Better Preparation For Presidency

All of the charts in this post were made with information from a recent Pew Research Center survey -- conducted between April 23rd and 27th of a national sample of 1,501 adults, with a margin of error of 2.9 points (and similar Past surveys from Pew).

While both governors and members of Congress have been elected to the presidency in this country, it has usually been a bit more difficult for a governor. That's because the general public has, in the past, considered experience in Washington to be better preparation for the job (even as late as 2007). But that is no longer true. It may be because of the very low opinion of the current Congress among the general public, but as the chart shows, the public now is evenly split on which job is better preparation (44% to 44%). This should give a shot of hope to those governors thinking about tossing their hat in the ring for 2016.

The survey also had some good news for Hillary Clinton. It looks like the nation is ready to vote for a woman for president. The only two groups with more than 10% saying they would be less likely to vote for a woman are Republicans (15%) and conservatives (19%) -- neither of which would be likely to support Hillary anyway. It does make me wonder why more Republicans and conservatives are opposed though. Is it because they don't like Hillary Clinton, or because they still cling to the idea that women should be second-class citizens (with less rights than men)?

There was another aspect to the survey that I found interesting -- the percentage of Americans who would be less likely to vote for a gay or lesbian candidate for president. Note that in 2007, 46% of the public would have considered that trait to be sufficient to vote against a candidate -- but today that percentage has dropped to 27%. That's still too many, but it does show how fast attitudes are changing in this country toward gays and lesbians.

And finally, here is a list of the things that would make some people less likely to  vote for a presidential candidate (with the percentage believing each trait is undesirable in a president). Sadly, my fellow atheists would have the toughest time of any group in trying to run for the presidency -- with about 53% of the population saying atheism would make them less likely to vote for a candidate. The Constitution says there should be no religious test for public office, but it seems that a lot of people still aren't willing to accept that.